The director of an accident claims business accused of staging crashes for an alleged insurance scam denied arranging to supply a car for one of the collisions.
John Christopher Smith, 41, who ran Swift Accident Solutions in St John Street, Chester, is among 12 defendants who all deny conspiracy to commit fraud in a trial at Manchester Crown Court. The jury has heard evidence more than 200 false whiplash claims were lodged following seven crashes involving buses in the Chester area.
Smith, of Grasmere Close, Connah’s Quay, also denies making a false representation by not declaring two outstanding county court judgements when applying for a licence to operate his claims management business.
The defendant, described by the prosecution as the man who ‘links it all together’, has been cross-examined on the stand.
Prosecutor Peter Cadwallader highlighted phone records involving calls between Smith and an Andrew Green in the days leading up to a collision between a First Group bus and car in Sealand Road on June 18, 2011. Smith said he knew Green because he owned a tow truck and the calls related to leads he had provided and an accident claim involving his wife Tracey Green.
But Mr Cadwallader claimed Smith was actually arranging for Green to supply his fellow defendant Richard ‘Andy’ Flynn, with a car for the Sealand Road crash, because he didn’t actually own one.
Addressing the accused, he said: “What I suggest is you were on the phone arranging a car for Andy Flynn two or three days before the collision.” Smith replied: “No, definitely not.”
In the first interview with police, Smith denied knowing Andrew Green but in the second interview explained that this was because he only knew him as ‘Greeny’.
The court heard Smith’s version of events that he had not realised Richard Flynn was the car driver in the Sealand Road crash despite him being ‘a close friend’s friend’.
Mr Cadwallader asked how he had not found out Flynn 48, from Church Street, Connah’s Quay, was the driver given 19 claims from the collision went through Swift Accident Solutions. He said the court had previously heard Smith would chase the driver in such circumstances to determine if any passengers had been injured and wished to make a claim.
It was alleged Smith would have been supplied the information through his contacts inside First Group or his associate within the Liverpool-based Paul Rooney Partnership solicitors firm who were handling the claims. And he was asked why he had not gone out of his way to identify the driver given his interest in the case.
Mr Cadwallader said: “You are a businessman, you are being accused of potentially manufacturing road traffic collisions aren’t you? You knew one of the collisions they were interested in was in Sealand Road and also a man by the name of Richard Flynn. In the three-and-a-half months between the first and second interviews did you make any inquiries to find out a bit more about the driver?” ‘No,’ replied the defendant.
Asked by the prosecutor why he told police he did not know a ‘Richard Flynn’ in either the first or the second interviews, Smith said he only knew him as ‘Flynny’. He told the court: “I don’t know a Richard Flynn.”
Other defendants are: Luke McQuillan, 40, from Dyserth Road, Blacon, Charlotte Watts, 28, from Fford Almer, Wrexham; Jamie Stokes, 22, from Gosmore Road, Mold; Daniel Shaw, 27, from Milton Road, Blacon, Chester; Dean Brown, 42, from Kings Crescent West, Chester; Michael Gentile, 45, from Hawthorn Road, Chester; David Clancy, 36, from Normanby Drive, Connah’s Quay; Sean Kettyle, 43, from Westminster Road, Ellesmere Port; Barry Cooper, 35, from Hall Lane, Connah’s Quay and Andrew Shaw, 57, from Ashton Drive, Frodsham.
The case continues.
